


groose pointe

by freedomatsea



Series: a messy situation [24]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Stressful Situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 12:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18468742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freedomatsea/pseuds/freedomatsea
Summary: Beth continues to cope with the aftermath of the shooting. (part 24 of 'a messy situation')





	groose pointe

A car backfired somewhere on the street below Rio’s apartment and Beth jerked awake with a scream. Her chest heaved as she tried, in somewhat vain, to catch her breath. 

“ _ Elizabeth, _ ” Rio drawled out as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips to the flat of her shoulder as he dragged her backwards. 

She tried to calm, she  _ tried _ . But the way he held her triggered something deep within her that reminded her of the arm around her throat. Beth dug her nails into his arm until he released her and she pulled away from him. 

“Easy.” He said gently, keeping his voice low. “It was just a car.”

Beth bit down on her bit down on her bottom lip, raking her hands through her hair as she tried to calm down. She felt like she was strangling on fear. The lump wedged in her throat. 

Beth slowly sank back against the mattress, resting a palm on her chest and feeling her heart pounding beneath her hand. “I thought it was a gun.” She said quietly. 

Rio’s brows knit together as he looked down at her, “I know.” 

She rubbed at her eyes and then turned her head to look at him better, “I’m sorry.” Beth whispered, wiping at a tear the slid down her face. 

“Nothin’ to apologize for, baby.” He told her as he laid back down beside her. Rio started to wrap his arm around her, but he pulled it back. 

“ _ No _ ,” Beth shook her head. “It’s okay. It’s… it’s not you.” She took ahold of his hand and drew it around her. “In the moment…” She rolled onto her side, tucking her arm under her head as Rio curled himself against her from behind. “I’m fine.”

“Mhm.” Rio chuckled lowly, pressing his lips against her shoulder, his fingers brushing against her skin where he had his arm curled around her middle. “I can tell just how fine you are.” 

Beth rolled her eyes with a breathless laugh. “I’m still numb.” She admitted, resting her hand over his hand, interlacing their fingers. “When I close my eyes…”

“It’s gonna take awhile.” Rio said in a hushed voice. “You can’t just get over it in a night.”

“It’s everything.” Beth squeezed his hand. “I had compartmentalized when  _ you _ shot Dean. I had boxed that fear up…” She felt an ache in her chest. “I pretended it didn’t happen.”

Rio tensed behind her. 

“I looked past it.  _ Forgot _ it.” Beth shook her head slowly. “It came back. It came back hard.” She tightened her hold on his hand as he started to pull his hand away. “Don’t.”

“I wanna say I ain’t sorry.” Rio said after a long moment. “But I’m sorry it hurt you.”

Beth slowly rolled over to face him, sniffling a little as tears slid down her cheeks. “It didn’t hurt  _ me _ … it scared me. It all terrifies the shit out of me.” 

Rio wiped his thumb over her cheek, sweeping away the tears. “ _ Shhh _ .”

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest. Beth  _ hated _ the way she felt, the ball of emotion in her chest that had burst with a single gunshot yesterday. She was better than this. Better at tamping down her emotions and moving past them. 

But she had almost died. 

It hasn’t been Rio brandishing a gun. Even at their worst she’d  _ never _ really thought Rio would pull the trigger. The stakes were never as high as they seemed, but yesterday…  _ yesterday _ . 

“I need to see my kids.” Beth said suddenly as she pulled herself away from him and moved to get out of the bed.

“It’s the middle of the fucking night, Beth.” Rio reminded her, scrambling to turn the light on and get out of the bed as she headed across the bedroom to find the pajamas she’d left behind the last time she’d been over. “They’re with Dean.”

“I know where they are.” Beth snapped, pulling the pajama top on and fixing the buttons. “Will you drive?”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“They’re with Judith and Eric.” Beth sighed, recalling the  _ joyful  _ experience that the recital had been. “It’ll be fine.”

“Beth, it’s the middle of the night.” He pleaded with her, even as he was gathering up his own clothes to put on.

Beth stepped into the bathroom to find her underwear on the floor, her eyes lingering momentarily on a blood stain left on the porcelain sink. “Can you drive me?” She questioned as she turned around to look at Rio as he pulled his jeans on. 

Rio’s shoulders sagged, “Yea. You wanna go, I’ll drive.” He said with a nod. 

“Good.” Beth said a pleased smile as she pulled her pajama bottoms on and slipped on her he flats. God, she’d been smart to wear flats yesterday. “I’m ready.”

“You really wanna go over there in your pajamas?” Rio questioned, giving her a once over with an arched brow.

Beth looked down at her clothes, “Should I put my blood stained clothes on instead?” She countered. “I just want to see my kids.”

Rio sat on the edge of the bed and put his shoes on, fixing the laces before he was back on his feet again and walking towards his closet. “Wear a sweatshirt, at least.” He remarked as he pulled out one of his black zip-up hoodies, passing it to her.

Beth eyed it skeptically, but she took it from him and pulled it on over her pajamas. It didn’t zip, but it  _ fit _ . “Thank you.” She said quietly as she glanced at her rather haggard reflection in the mirror on the back of the bedroom door, her brows drawn together. “What time  _ is _ it?”

“Just after one.” Rio told her, approaching her cautiously. “You sure you wanna go over there?” 

“ _ Yes _ .” She turned to face him then. “They’re in Groose Pointe.” 

Rio clicked his tongue against his teeth, “No wonder there were  _ issues _ .” He raked a hand over his face, staring at the wall for a second before he turned his attention back to Beth. “You ready?”

Beth nodded her head, before went to the bedside table and grabbed her cellphone. “I’m going to text Dean and tell him we’re coming.”

* * *

“You look  _ terrible _ .” Dean remarked as Beth walked up the stone path that led to the Boland’s house. His gaze lingered on her for just a second, before he turned his attention to Rio. “You didn’t say he was coming.”

Beth rolled her eyes, “Why would he  _ not _ come?” She gritted out, pulling the sweatshirt around her more tightly. “I just want to see the kids, okay?” 

“I don’t want any trouble. Let her see the kids.” Rio told Dean and Beth tried to ignore the fact that she had said just  _ that _ to the thugs in the dealership. When would the flashbacks stop? The smallest thing sent her right back to that moment. 

Dean crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Rio, “They’re asleep.” He remarked, looking back to Beth then. 

“I don’t care.” Beth bit down on her bottom lip. “I just want to see them.” She moved to the front door, pushing it open quietly. She took off her shoes by the coat rack, padding down the hallway that led to the room that the children always slept in. 

It wasn’t  _ ideal _ for all of them, but two bunk beds lined opposite walls. They were peacefully asleep, entirely unware that she’d crept in. 

Beth sat down in the middle of the floor, closing her eyes as she listened to the sound of little snores and quiet breathing. They were all  _ fine _ . Safe and sound and so was she. She had lived to fight another day. 

She grabbed one of the children’s stuffed bears, resting her head on it as she laid down on the floor. She wasn’t tired, she was just  _ exhausted _ . Beth didn’t see any harm in just resting her eyes for a little while. 

* * *

Beth grimaced as the sunlight from the window fanned out across her face, her lashes fluttering as she slowly came awake. Her neck was killing her from sleeping on the floor, with nothing more than a stuffed animal to prop her head up. She sat up slowly, rubbing at her neck. 

“This is  _ bullshit _ !” Rio shouted from somewhere outside. 

Beth pushed herself up off the floor, following the muffled sound of Rio’s voice, growing progressively more agitated. She headed down the hallway, the smell of a fresh pot of coffee hitting her nostrils. Judith had to be up.  _ Shit _ . 

“Rio?” Beth called out, before she rounded the corner that led to the front door and saw Judith standing on the front porch with a cop in the process of handcuffing Rio. For the love of  _ God _ . Did it never end?

“What the hell is going on here?” Beth questioned as she pushed the screen door open and stepped out onto the porch. She crossed her arms across her chest, looking between Judith and the cop. “Don’t talk all at once.” 

“The neighbors called and told me that they saw someone  _ trespassing _ on our porch.” Judith retorted, practically sticking her nose in the air as she regarded Beth. “So I called the cops.” 

Beth pinched the bridge of her nose, blowing out a shaky breath. “Officer, that is  _ my _ fiance. You can uncuff him.”

The officer looked towards Judith then with an arched brow and all Judith did was  _ shrug _ as a reply. 

“You gonna call me a _ liar  _ again?” Rio questioned with a smirk as the cop pulled the key out to uncuff him. He rubbed at his wrists as he turned around to face the cop, giving him a once over. 

“I’m sorry you got called all the way out here,” Beth said, trying to smooth things over with the cop, given the pissed off expression he wore. 

“Have good morning.” The officer remarked to Judith, giving Beth and Rio snide looks. 

“Why did you call the cops on him?” Beth questioned, turning towards Judith. 

“Why was he sleeping in my porch swing?” Judith pushed back, giving Rio another askance look. “Why are either of you here?”

Dean came ambling out the screen door, pushing his fingers through unbrushed morning hair and scratching at his chest. “Did I miss something?”

“Just your mother causing a scene.” Beth bit out, catching sight of a neighbor across the street peering out their front door to see what a cop was doing in the neighborhood. She looked back at Rio then,  “Wait, go back… You were  _ sleeping _ on the porch swing?  _ Why _ ?”

Rio gritted his teeth, fixing Dean with a look then that could definitely kill. “Why don’t you ask him?” 

“I can explain…” Dean laughed nervously. “You see… you went to the kid’s room this morning… and, uh…” He rubbed at the back of his neck with another awkward laugh. “I  _ might _ have told him to wait outside and then… accidentally locked the front door.”

“Accident.” Rio scoffed, shaking his. “ _ Coward _ .” 

“I thought you said you didn’t want trouble.” Dean quipped and Rio started to lunge. Beth put herself in between them, pressing her palms against Rio’s chest, her eyes meeting his with a silent plea to desist. 

Beth sighed a breath of relief when Rio took a step back, rolling his shoulders  _ instead _ of murdering Dean. She clasped her hands together and turned around to face Judith. “I wanted to see the children last night…  _ this  _ morning. After what happened yesterday I just needed to know they were safe. I didn’t intend to fall asleep. This was never supposed to be a  _ thing _ .” She pushed her messy hair behind her ears. 

Rio swept his hand over her back, pressing his lips to her shoulder in an effort to comfort her. 

“It doesn’t seem like they’re going to be safe as long as  _ he _ is around.” Judith said, bringing her mug of coffee to her lips, ambling over to the porch swing. “It’s such a lovely morning.”

Beth pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek as she turned her gaze to Dean. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Dean grimaced. “How are  _ you _ doing?”

Beth laughed sharply. “ _ Really _ ?” She shook her head slowly. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is, Dean.”

“ _ Harder _ ?” Dean scoffed. “Kenny was watching the news last night, Bethie. I had to explain to him that mommy was  _ fine _ after he saw that Boland Motors had been shot up!” He pointed at Rio then. “And the only reason I even knew you were safe was because the man who shot  _ me _ let me know!”

Beth clenched her eyes closed, looking towards the street then. “Yesterday was  _ hell _ Dean. I was in no place to talk to anyone last night.” 

“She  _ was _ pretty catatonic.” Rio quipped, moving to perch on the porch railing, much to Judith’s dismay. 

“And you think it wasn’t  _ hell _ to explain to our son that his mother almost died?” Dean questioned, narrowing his eyes at her. “And you know what really fucking sucks, Beth? The fact that I wasn’t even  _ surprised _ .”

Beth flinched, before she tamped down her emotions. “Only you could make this about you, Dean.”

“Isn’t it about me?” Dean questioned, “About our kids?” He shook his head. “The only reason you’re even  _ with _ that punk is because of me.” He took a step forward, pointing at Beth. “You started acting out after you found out about Amber. The  _ Fine & Frugal _ , the lies, the gang… it was all because of me.”

Beth took a step backwards, her eyes going wide. “Wow, your shrink  _ must  _ be making headway with you. You can finally see that your actions have had reactions in other people’s lives.” She crossed her arms across her chest, staring at the floor. “But still you can’t see that I have the freewill to make decisions that have  _ nothing _ to do with you.”

Dean started to say something else, but Emma appeared on the other side of the screen door. 

“Mommy!” Emma said as she reached up to open the door, stepping out onto the porch. 

“Good morning sweetheart.” Beth said as she crouched down, letting Emma wrap her little arms around her and she hugged her back tightly. “Did you sleep good?”

“I did.” Emma pulled back and scrunched up her nose. “Did you sleep good on Snug’ems?” 

Beth laughed softly, “I did. He’s a very good stuffed animal to sleep on.” She tapped Emma’s nose. 

“Rio!” She said with a bright grin as she spotted Rio where he was perched on the banister. “Is Marcus here too?”

Rio shook his head with a smile, “Nah, pumpkin… He’s with his mama today.” 

“They need to go to school.” Beth said to Dean, her brows drawn together as she stood back up. 

“School’s giving them the day off.” Dean pursed his lips together. “Considering what  _ happened _ yesterday.”

“Kenny said you got hurt.” Emma said, tugging at Beth’s pajama sleeve. “Do you have a boo-boo?”

Beth brushed her fingers over Emma’s hair. “No, baby. I’m perfectly alright.” She glanced towards Rio then. “How about you go back inside with Nanny and get her to get you one of those yummy peaches she always has.”

Judith got off the porch swing, walking over to Emma. “Come on  _ peaches _ ,” She held her hand out to her, leading her back inside. 

Dean crossed his arms across his chest, pacing the length of the porch. “You are putting  _ our _ family at risk, Bethie. Don’t you see that?” He said as Judith shut the interior door. 

Rio cleared his throat, sliding off the banister. “Yea, let’s not pretend that you weren’t  _ full _ of shit.” He remarked, shooting Dean a look. “Cheating, lying about cancer,  _ ruining  _ your business.” He cocked his head to the side, rolling his shoulders. “That shit puts your family at risk too.” 

Dean blew out a breath and laughed bitterly, “You think you understand everything don’t you? That you just get sweep into our lives like a tornado and fuck up everything.” 

“Can we  _ please _ not do this, Dean?” Beth questioned as she rubbed at her temples. “I just want to see the kids, make sure they know that I’m okay…. and then go home.” 

Rio squeezed her shoulder, “You want a cup of coffee?”

Beth nodded her head, briefly squeezing his hand, before she headed inside. She need a shot of bourbon in her coffee too. 

* * *

“Are you and mommy staying here too?” Emma questioned as leaned back against Rio’s chest, eating a bite of the cinnamon roll she had clutched in her hand. 

“ _ Nah _ ,” Rio shook his head. “We gotta take care of a couple things.” 

“Are we all going home then?”

“No, baby.” Beth said with a shake of her head. “Rio and I have to take care of some stuff and then maybe this weekend we can all go home.” She leaned over and wiped off Emma’s hand, trying to keep the sticking icing off of everything. 

Dean was seething across the table. Beth was well aware of the fact that Dean  _ hated _ the fact that the children adored Rio. Particularly Emma who had taken a liking to him early on, because of Marcus. 

“When  _ do _ you think this will be over?” Dean questioned as he took a sip of his coffee. “You really think it’ll be solved by the weekend?”

Beth shot him a silencing look. “It’ll be over when it’s over.” 

Kenny scooted his chair closer to Beth, his brows knit together. “I don’t want you to  _ die _ .” 

Her heart clenched and she wrapped her arm around Kenny, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m not going to die. I know yesterday was scary, but  _ everything _ is going to be okay. Promise.”

“ _ Promise _ .” Dean scoffed. 

Rio cleared his throat, “Kenny, there are  _ bad _ people everywhere out there.”

Judith sat her coffee cup down heavily on the table. “And  _ in _ here.” 

“For the love of God.” Beth muttered. 

“What I was tryin’ to say, was that there’s bad people everywhere. Your mom just got caught in the crosshairs. But she’s good. You know your Krav Maga, Kenny?” He nodded his head. “Your mom’s good at takin’ care of herself.” 

Emma wiped her sticking hand on Rio’s sleeve after she shoved the rest of her cinnamon roll into her mouth. 

“Was it the same guy who shot dad?” Kenny questioned.

Beth met Rio’s eyes, “No, baby. Not the same person.”

Rio pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, his gaze flickering towards Dean and finding him looking far too pleased with himself. 

“Do you follow the Lions at all, Rio?” Eric questioned, trying to bridge the gap in the stilted conversation at the table.

Rio reached for his coffee and took a sip, “Nah, I’m more into soccer.” 

“He’s been teaching me to play!” Danny said gleefully. 

“Me too.” Janie added, scraping her fork against her plate as she tried to gather up the last drops of icing on it. 

“Manchester and Barcelona.” Rio answered, taking another sip of his coffee. 

“Whitecaps.” Eric said with a nod. “Barcelona’s doing good this year.”

Dean sat his coffee cup down heavily on the table, looking in between his father and Rio. He started to open his mouth to say  _ something _ , but Beth quickly interjected. “Dean, would you be able to go down to the dealership today and help Annie with the clean-up?”

“Not my dealership.” 

Beth rolled her eyes, “ _ Please _ .” 

“Can I help?” Kenny questioned, looking towards Beth then.

“Probably not a good idea, buddy.” Beth shook her head slowly, her lips drawn into a thin line. “It’s a _real_ mess down there.” It made her heart ache at the fact that Kenny was at the age that he really understood what was happening. He wasn’t little like Emma and Janie and still mostly unaware of the world. 

“How’s your Krav Maga goin’?” Rio questioned, giving Kenny’s shoulder a squeeze. 

“We’ve been working on gun defense.” Kenny answered, “How to disarm someone if they have a gun pointed to your head.”

Beth felt a pang of anxiety settle into her stomach then. “That’s a good skill to have.” She told him quietly, staring down at her coffee. “Judith do you still have those spare toothbrushes in the bathroom?”

“I suppose.” Judith retorted crisply.

“I’m going to go brush my teeth.” Beth said quietly, scooting out from the table and standing up. She brushed her fingers over Rio’s shoulder as she headed out of the dinning room and down the hall to the bathroom.

She stepped inside and shut the door. Beth leaned down to dig a toothbrush out from under the sink, before she stood up and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She really did look  _ awful _ . Despite catching a few hours of sleep in the kid’s room, she had dark bags under her eyes. Her hair was a mess, unbrushed and sticking out at right angles.

“Elizabeth?” Rio questioned as he knocked on the bathroom door, turning the knob and slipping inside. “You good?”

Beth shook her head as she watched him walk past her in the mirror, before she put toothpaste on the brush and started cleaning her teeth. “I just want to sleep for a hundred years.” She remarked with the toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. 

Rio sat down on the edge of the tub, raking his hand over his face. “Yea, that porch swing was  _ shit _ to sleep on.”

Beth sighed heavily, “I’m so sorry that Dean locked you out… you could’ve text me.” 

He shrugged a shoulder, “Nah, it’s good mama.” Rio pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek as he crossed his arms across his chest. “You know what I’m gonna have to do, don’t ya?” 

She turned around to look at him, pulling the toothbrush out of her mouth. “You’re not turning yourself in. We’ve been through this.” 

“I don’t see any other way, baby.” 

Beth spit into the sink, grabbing the hand towel to wipe her mouth off, before she turned around to face him. “We’ll talk to Turner.” 

“I can’t be seen goin’ into the FBI, unless you plan for me to get gun downed. I go in there, it’s gonna be about my arrest.” Rio rubbed at the back of his neck, before he stood up slowly, cocking his head to the side. “You okay?”

“I’d be a lot better if you weren’t talking about turning yourself in.” Beth told him firmly, narrowing her eyes. “Because I  _ need _ you now more than ever.” 

Rio sighed heavily, reaching out to rest his hands on her hips. “There just ain’t any way outta this.” He rubbed his thumbs over the curve of her hips. “That target’s only gonna get bigger and bigger.” He shook his head. “Carman’s a day away from tellin’ your  _ kids _ that I’m the one that shot him. You realize that?” 

Beth nodded her head slowly. “I know.”

“They ain’t ever gonna look at me the same way again if he opens his mouth.” Rio hung his head, his jaw clenched tightly. “I ain’t gonna be the reason their mother gets shot too.” 

“Please don’t do this, Rio.” Beth whispered, curling her fingers around the side of his neck, her eyes searching his. “They don’t know you’re involved. Greg’s guys… they thought it was just  _ me _ .” 

Rio rocked his jaw back and forth, his brows drawing together thoughtfully. “You think they just think you’re the narc?” 

“Yeah,” Beth said shakily. “It’s just me with the target on my back.” She ran her hand from his neck over his chest. “We’ll figure this out… but right now, I want clean clothes and a couple more hours of sleep.” 

“Alright.” Rio said with a sniff, nodding his head. “You’ll let me handle this, yea? I ain’t lettin’ you get any deeper into this. I’ll sort it out.”

“Without turning yourself in?”

Rio leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Without turning myself in.” 

Beth wrapped her arms around him, melting into his hold. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He whispered, rubbing his hands over her back. 

She wondered if there even was a way out of this that didn’t involve him going to jail? Turner wanted a full sweep of the gangs in Detroit, but she wasn’t sure if she could provide it now. No amount of intel was worth her life  _ or _ Rio’s. They were trapped in between a rock and a hard place. And that space in between the two was getting narrower. 

**Author's Note:**

> Gaaah. I'm so sorry this chapter sucked.


End file.
